The MBA 13 cases that Speck and Incipio are a great concept, but I refused to pay nearly $60 after taxes for two pieces of plastic. Yes, I have a first world problem, but it's not that bad.

There had to be a good knockoff somewhere, so I looked far and wide. They had to ship to Canada, so many of the knockoffs were out of the question. This one came within two weeks of my paying for it, so I was very happy in terms of shipping time.

Pics to come

Usage, Look and Feel
Awesome matte finish. There were some inconsistencies in the rubber coating. The seller mentioned that these were all applied afterwards, so this might account for the inconsistency. Specifically, mine had a number of nicks and scratches on the top. I didn't mind honestly, but from this n=1 sample, you definitely won't get a perfectly mint looking cover. Otherwise, it's great, makes the machine easy to grip.

I loved the rubberized feet on the bottom of the case. They were nice and thick, reinforced and were on there tight. They provide a great sense of security when plopping down the MBA, and are just sticky enough to be able to grip to any surface.

The base sits well in the lap, and I did not notice it getting any warmer than usual (my MBA is ~50C mild flash surfing, word processing, PDF viewing).

The weight of the base is nice as it allows for the MBA to be opened with one hand on the screen, rather than one on the screen and one pushing down on the palmrest. However, the top is a little heavy for my liking and causes the screen to shut when put at an acute angle, and open when in a big obtuse angle. I'm worried that this may lead to future hinge problems.

Fit and installation
The bottom and top are on there tight, however on my particular base the front lip flaps open and shut and does not sit properly. I am in the process of sending over some pictures and hopefully they will send me a new base to replace the defective one. The top is on there and is pretty much going to stay there unless you go through lengths to remove it. I myself used a 1mm guitar pick to pry the top off.

I've chosen to run the machine with just the base and no top, to get the protection on the base, but preserve the sweet look of the top, the lightness (only a little heavier... again, first world problem), and the propensity of the increased top weight from forcing the hinge closed or open at big angles.

Cost
It was $20, so I'm not complaining. Still robbery, considering it was just some plastic (should be on dealextreme for $5), but justified relative to Speck or Incipio.

Overall
Fit could be a little better, weight could be a bit of an issue with some, but overall a very nice case. Long story short, if you can get a good quality one from these guys (quality control might not be as good), don't buy from Apple store.

Hope this was helpful.

I will be contacting their customer service and seeing if I can get a replacement base. Will keep this thread updated

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